Unwanted
by Mandy of the Amoeba
Summary: Ficlet from Petunia Dursley's POV. (Well, Petunia Evans, this takes place when she's 17.) Life isn't always fair.


A/N: Hmm....I'm not sure how to explain my reasoning behind this fic, other than the fact that I needed to let some stuff out. I was trying to find a character from ANY fandom to fit this situation, and for some reason my mind settled on Petunia Dursley. This is just a short little fic sort of offering a look at why Petunia might be so bitter. Oh, and I know the facts here don't fit together...I don't even know if they have such a thing as winter drumline in Great Britain, and I don't claim to have any knowledge of the culture. Yes, this is basically a written-out version of something that happened to me, with a few changes due to Petunia's character, and I freely admit that. Oh, and I own nothing.  
  
  
Head held high and smile plastered firmly in place, seventeen year old Petunia Evans stood waving good-bye to a group of girls her age as they drove off to grab a bite to eat before rehearsal. The smile faded as soon as they had gone, replaced by teary eyes and a proud but trembling chin. She and the other girls were all helping the winter drumline out by dancing for the show. The girls had all come a little early so they could take supper with the drumline members, but it turned out that the break had been an hour earlier than scheduled, so the dancers were left with an hour to kill. Petunia walked back to the now-deserted theatre, the conversation of moments ago replaying vividly in her mind.  
_  
"We're going to go grab some supper and a cappuccino." Janice had said, pulling her red hair back in a clip. "We've got plenty of time."  
  
Petunia had smiled and said, "I think I may tag along with you....I came early to give people transportation, but - "  
  
"There's not really much room in Dad's car." A second girl, Jessica, had interrupted, casting a quick glance to Janice. "He has this big box thing in it....it's crowded...."  
  
"Well, my car is big....we could...." Petunia had trailed off as she saw they were already heading out the door. She had realized then that they didn't want her to come, and her heart sank miserably.   
  
One girl had turned around, wide blue eyes looking slightly hesitant about leaving. "Are you going to hang around here?" Heather had asked uncertainly, and Petunia knew she felt bad about leaving. They had lived on the same street as children, and the younger-but-more-popular girl had always been kind to Petunia.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I'll see you later." she had replied, wearing her fake smile._  
  
She closed her eyes, shutting off the threatening tears. They hadn't wanted her. They had all but told her she couldn't come. After all the times she'd given rides to those who didn't have cars, cramming six or seven teenagers into a sedan made to seat five. After all the work she'd put into the winter show, building and painting sets, sewing last minute touches on costumes, supplying forgotten make-up and hair ties, doling out aspirin and Band-Aids to heal hurts. She had never asked for anything in return, until today, when all she wanted was, for just one hour, to be "one of the girls" instead of the mature, motherly, stick-in-the-mud Petunia they all knew. And they had refused her.  
  
She walked over to where the phone sat on the floor by the director's office door and sank down beside it. Leaning against the wall, she dew her knees up to her chest and hugged them to her. The phone stared coldly up at her. She had no one to call. Two of her best friends were out of town and she had recently had a squabble with the third, so talking was still a trifle uneasy. There was no one she could pour her hurting heart and damaged pride out to. No one.  
  
For some reason, her thoughts turned to Lily. _Lily doesn't have this problem_, she thought bitterly. Lily was away at Hogwarts, having the time of her life doing magic and spending time with her many friends. Petunia didn't know why she was so often angry at her sister. She found it easy enough to be kind to and forgive other people, but she and Lily just seemed to clash. They could never seem to get along. Lily was perfect; she always had been. Beautiful, thick red hair that Petunia had always envied....striking green eyes that seemed like emeralds compared to Petunia's dark hazel ones. Pretty, popular.....and a witch, to top it all off. It just wasn't _fair_.  
  
And Lily had recently started dating that _Potter_ boy. They were madly in love with each other, it seemed, even though they were both just sixteen. Petunia hadn't had a boyfriend in two years, and that relationship only lasted a week. Lily didn't even have to TRY to get a boy to like her, they just sort of flocked to her. Petunia hated James Potter, hated Hogwarts....and yes, she even hated Lily.  
  
Time ticked away, and it seemed like hours had passed before she heard a creaky door swing open. However, when she glanced down at her watch, it read 5:45. The three girls came back in, walking not more than three meters away from Petunia, but they didn't see her sitting in the shadows. They went right past her, laughing and gossiping about how cute one of the drummers was.  
  
Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she reached for her purse and pulled out a compact. Fixing her eye make-up, she plastered on the practiced smile and went to join the others.  
  
  



End file.
